CAMPING: EAST CANYON STATE PARK

I wanted a one night escape that was less than one hour from the city and dog friendly. East Canyon State Park was the destination.

East Canyon State Park has yurts, boat launches, day use areas, and three different campgrounds. We went with Dixie Creek Campground as it was closest to the water. The campsite set us back $14 and was self serve when we arrived (Mid November). During peak seasons you can expect to have an attendant at the registration booth, but prices should stay the same. The sites offered covered picnic tables, paved parking, water spigots, and fire pits. It was evident that this campground is booming in the summer.

I had the entire campground to myself. If I had to share this space with others I might not look back on it so fondly, but we were alone save for the herds of deer that paid us the occasional visit. For this reason, I quite enjoyed my stay. The dogs enjoyed wind sprints and wrestling matches on the beach and I enjoyed reading and hammock napping. I did not enjoy the unfathomable amount of trash that littered the shore. When we woke up and the sprinting and wrestling ensued I decided to fill up doggie bags with foreign objects. I filled three, and if my fingers hadn't lost color and feeling I likely could have filled more. This saddened me.

Reservoirs are a bit of a touchy subject with me, and everything about this place, down to the stocked trout, felt programmed. We attained the quiet we sought, but overall this man made creation is not high on my list.

The covered picnic tables offers sturdy hammock posts. Along the water's edge you will notice more of these structures; these are for day use only and can be reserved during peak seasons.

I watched the sunset while Osa supervised the deer roaming through our campsite. Notice the leash. I let the dogs run wild along the reservoir but dogs are required to be on leash in this campsite. Since there were no other campers I may have, errr, ignored this rule, but I didn't want to allow the pups to terrorize Bambi all night.